MALTA
Times of Malta
The Curia has clarified comments reportedly made by Minister Helena Dalli when speaking in Parliament yesterday.
In a statement, the Curia observed that the minister was quoted as saying that paedophile priests should be made to answer for their actions before the Civil Courts like all other men who committed such crimes.
The Curia said this was already being done and the media had given great publicity to the recent case where two priests were taken to court and subsequently jailed.
Furthermore, it was not correct, the Curia said, that “there was an anomaly in that if a priest and a man abused of children, the former was removed from the priesthood or sent to another diocese, while the other man was taken to court and sent to prison if convicted.”
The fact was that a priest was judged by the Church Tribunal which could strip him of the priesthood but he could still be taken before the civil courts. Thus, a priest was judged twice, before the Tribunal and the Courts, the Curia said.
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